Gilpin County to make long-term care optional and suspend hiring/retention incentives for 2026 amid budget constraints

At the Sept. 23 meeting the Gilpin County Board of County Commissioners approved two related personnel changes aimed at reducing projected 2026 personnel costs: a resolution making long-term care insurance an optional, employee‑paid benefit, and a separate resolution pausing the county’s hiring and retention incentive program for the 2026 budget year.

Human resources director Shanda Johnson told the board that long-term care insurance had been a county-paid benefit for eligible employees but that rising benefits costs and very low utilization prompted the proposal to convert the benefit to an optional program the employee may elect and pay for. Johnson said the county’s estimated cost for that benefit was “around $30,000” and that utilization had been “very, very low.” The board passed the long-term-care resolution (Resolution 24-109) on a 3–0 vote.

The commissioners also voted to suspend the county’s hiring and retention incentive program for budget year 2026, citing projected program costs. County staff estimated the program would cost about $596,000 in 2026 if it continued. The program had been used to recruit and retain employees in safety‑sensitive positions, including facility maintenance and multiple positions in the Sheriff’s Office (deputies, dispatchers, detention specialists and sergeants).

During discussion, commissioners and staff emphasized that incentives already earned or committed through Dec. 31 will be honored. Staff said hiring incentives typically pay at 30 days and six months; referral incentives include payments at six months and one year. Staff explained that the bulk of the program’s cost is driven by retention bonuses that vest over time, and that suspending the program before it enters a more-expensive third tier would avoid larger future obligations.

Board members asked whether the county could preserve incentives for critically understaffed roles (the discussion cited dispatcher staffing and a facilities request). Staff recommended approving the suspension now and holding a more detailed work session on Oct. 21 to consider targeted exceptions or an amended structure that would prioritize specific positions. One commissioner asked for clearer, itemized counts before suspension; the board agreed to revisit targeted options in the October work session. The motion to suspend passed (board vote recorded in the meeting as 2–1).

Decisions and next steps: the board approved the long-term care transition (3–0) and approved suspension of the countywide hiring/retention incentive program for 2026 (2–1). Staff will honor incentives earned or committed through Dec. 31 and will return with proposals for targeted exceptions or program redesign at an Oct. 21 work session.